Description
Deliciously moist and flavorful chocolate chip banana bars made with ripe bananas, buttermilk, and mini chocolate chips. These bars are easy to prepare with a simple mix-and-bake method, perfect for a sweet snack or dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113 grams), melted (1 stick)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 2 large eggs (100 grams), room temperature
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- ¾ cup buttermilk (170 grams), room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (8 grams)
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (8 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (6 grams)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (3 grams)
Add-ins
- 1½ cups mini chocolate chips (266 grams), divided
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray to prevent sticking, then set it aside.
- Mix wet base: In a large bowl, use a whisk or hand mixer to beat together the melted butter, granulated sugar, and eggs until smooth and well combined.
- Add banana mixture: Stir in the mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla extract, mixing thoroughly to blend all wet ingredients evenly.
- Combine dry ingredients: Gradually add the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt to the wet mixture. Stir carefully until the dry ingredients are just incorporated to avoid overmixing.
- Fold in chocolate chips: Gently fold in 1¼ cups of the mini chocolate chips to distribute throughout the batter without deflating it.
- Assemble and top: Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Evenly sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips over the surface.
- Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Cool and serve: Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before slicing into 12 squares for serving.
Notes
- The riper your bananas, the sweeter and more pronounced the banana flavor will be in the bars.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, mix ¾ cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and let it sit for 5 minutes to create a buttermilk substitute.
- Avoid overmixing the batter to keep the bars tender; stir just until dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Cool completely before cutting to ensure clean, neat bars.
- Storage: Keep bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 210mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
